U.S. patent application number 10/753234 was filed with the patent office on 2005-07-07 for lottery credit card rewards system.
Invention is credited to Leof, Eugene.
Application Number | 20050149393 10/753234 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34711758 |
Filed Date | 2005-07-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050149393 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Leof, Eugene |
July 7, 2005 |
Lottery credit card rewards system
Abstract
A credit card loyalty program, based upon a state lottery. The
end user receives a credit card with a lottery reward feature. As
purchases are made, the customer accumulates credits which can be
used to purchase lottery tickets via toll free number, mail or
online website.
Inventors: |
Leof, Eugene; (Abington,
PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
National IP Rights Center, LLC
Suite 400
550 Township Line Road
Blue Bell
PA
19422
US
|
Family ID: |
34711758 |
Appl. No.: |
10/753234 |
Filed: |
January 6, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.12 ;
705/14.14; 705/14.25; 705/14.27 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/3255 20130101;
G06Q 30/0224 20130101; G06Q 30/0226 20130101; G07F 17/329 20130101;
G06Q 30/0212 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06Q 30/0209
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/014 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
1. A method of issuing lottery tickets to an authorized user of a
credit card who incurs debts on the card. storing in a data
processing device an amount of the paid purchase on the credit card
by an authorized user of the card; defining and storing in the data
processing device a number representing a monetary amount for which
the user can receive a lottery ticket; calculating in the data
processing device a quantity of the lottery tickets earned by the
user based on the quantity of paid purchases by the end user; and
crediting the user with the lottery tickets.
2. A novel customer loyalty game played according to the following
steps: registering a customer for a lottery loyalty promotion
associated with a credit card; and providing at least one lottery
ticket to the customer, based upon the monetary amount a customer
purchases based upon a pre-set algorithm;
3. The novel customer loyalty game of claim 1 further comprising
the step of providing additional lottery tickets if the customer's
purchases achieve pre-selected minimums of products.
4. The novel customer loyalty game of claim 1 wherein the customer
can be awarded additional lottery tickets if the customer purchases
certain pre-identified products.
5. A system for operating a customer loyalty game played according
to the following steps: means for inputting customer information
and registering the customer to participate in the lottery credit
card based customer loyalty game; means under the control of a
computer program for determining the award of lottery tickets based
upon pre-selected purchasing parameters; means for assigning the
lottery tickets to a registered customer based upon the spending
level of the customer with respect to the purchasing parameters;
and means for providing the end user with the ability to access the
numbers.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is directed to a rewards program for
credit card holders and debit cardholders that is tied to state or
governmental lotteries. In particular, the present invention is
directed to a system in which the reward of state or governmental
lottery tickets is tied to a credit card and/or debit card awards
or rewards program to reward Lottery cardholders based on their
individual purchasing power at over 28 million merchants globally
with earned (free) lottery ticket awards. Awarded lottery tickets
are accessible to Lottery Cardholders through multiple
channels.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed to a system and method for
applying lottery prizes to a credit card and debit card rewards
system. Credit cards and/or debit cards typically comprise a
plastic payment system, with which an authorized user purchases
services and/or merchandise and the like. Credit cards and/or debit
cards are generally issued by a state or federally chartered bank
or financial institution and provide a mechanism by which a user
purchases goods without an immediate, direct exchange of cash with
the exception of debit cards which create a real time withdrawal
from the cardholder's bank account. During a given payment period,
the user may either pay the outstanding balance or, as a matter of
choice, revolve the balance for later payment with accompanying
interest or finance charges for the period during which repayment
of the debt is deferred.
[0003] Increasingly, credit cards and/or debit cards are being
issued by banks, financial institutions and the like in association
with other organizations, for example, such as commercial
enterprises which themselves offer or sell goods and/or services.
This phenomenon, known as co-branding, of which there are greater
than 6,000 relationships with colleges and universities, non-profit
organizations, charities and consumer businesses in the U.S. alone,
provides a credit card that typically carries the name of a
commercial company, (e.g. American Airlines, United Airlines,
Hilton Hotels, BP Amoco, Dell Computer, Office Depot) and in which
the commercial company or co-branding "partner" brings to the card
holder or user added benefits which will generally assist the
partner in the sale of its goods or services to the card user. Well
known and successful examples of such co-branded cards include the
General Motors MasterCard credit card--offering users up to a
five-percent rebate on user-purchased General Motors automobiles
and airline-partnered credit cards and/or debit cards which award
the card user frequent flyer mileage on the basis of user-accrued
card charges. Also well known are the American Airlines AAdvantage
Card, the Marriott Rewards Card, and others.
[0004] Lotteries are a $42.9 billion dollar industry in North
America. In the United States, over 38 states have or participate
in lottery-type games. Two additional states have approved
lotteries to commence in 2004. The average annual purchases of
lottery tickets nationwide is $169 per capita. Lotteries award over
fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) in daily cash awards in North
America alone. Lotteries are also played in over seventy
countries.
[0005] In the United States, state operated lotteries help fund a
number of important public and societal functions including
education, health care, the building of sports facilities and
senior citizen care. However, with the growth and proliferation of
other forms of legalized gambling such as Casino gambling, state
lotteries have had to market much harder for the public's gambling
dollar. Accordingly, lotteries have had to utilize more aggressive
marketing and sales techniques including high cost advertising,
high visibility, high cost marketing packages and other
techniques.
[0006] Until this time and during a period of credit card industry
rewards program growth, no one entity or individual has developed a
consumer-friendly, multiple access system for linking lottery
ticket awards to everyday credit and debit card purchases such as
is delineated herein, including imbedded transactional security and
privacy. There has not been an effective system for incorporating a
lottery with a credit card rewards program.
[0007] There have been several patents directed to the use of
lotteries in the context of premiums and awards. U.S. Patent
Publication No. 2001/0039511 is directed to an electronic point of
sale and Internet promotional method and system that promotes
customer purchases and loyalty at member merchants. The system
records customer sales data and, under the control of one or more
merchants and a sales promotion computer system, involves
generating and storing random numbers at the sales promotion
computer system, loading awards records on the promotion system
consisting of sales criteria which define customer award
entitlements, and comparing customer transaction data received from
a sales system with the award records at the promotion computer
system to determine if the customer is entitled to an award. If so,
one or more of the numbers are printed on a document associated
with each transaction. The printed numbers constitute a lottery
ticket in a lottery to be drawn on a periodic basis with prizes
awarded to ticket holders having a number or numbers which are the
same as or are a defined sub-set of the numbers drawn.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,102 to Auriemma discloses data
processing methods for enhancing the value of a substantially
conventional credit card so as to enhance a user's perception of
the desirability of holding and using the card and encourage
increased use of the card for its normal utility as a payment
device. The user earns, for each transaction amount or payment
amount of at least a predetermined size, a coupon redeemable by the
user for a lottery ticket by which the user has an opportunity to
recover at least a portion and potentially in excess of the user's
transaction-based expenditures or payments. Transaction amounts or
payment amounts in excess of the predetermined size but
insufficient to earn an additional coupon are stored and then
applied to user transaction or payment amounts during the
next-subsequent billing period.
[0009] The problem with the prior art systems such as disclosed by
Auriemma is that they do not provide either convenience or rapid
access of number to the user. The Auriemma system is based upon a
system of issued coupons which have to be redeemed for actual
tickets. In such systems, there is typically a long period between
the time when the purchase is made and the credit is issued. Such a
system does not address or utilize the types of high speed or
instant access that is provided by an Internet site, toll free
telephony and card statement messaging. Such a system also does not
address transactional security and potential identity theft and
privacy, mandatory requirements in the present environment for the
protection of consumers envisioned as carrying the Lottery
Card.
[0010] Many lottery players only play periodically, often when a
major jackpot is high. Several recent "Powerball" and "Mega
Millions" drawings exceed 300 million dollars ($300,000,000)
Players thus need to quickly access or obtain their numbers. A
further drawback is that the redemption process can be time
consuming. In addition to having to verify the coupons, large
lottery drawings typically create long lines at retailers. In a
major jackpot drawing, people have been known to wait for two hours
or more to purchase tickets. These lines actually dissuade people
from playing.
[0011] Accordingly it is a principal object of the Lottery Card
invention to provide methodology for enhancing the value of a
conventional credit card or debit card through product
differentiation by--(1) greatly increasing the size and selection
of Lottery ticket awards linked to card purchasing, (2) providing
method of delivering the awards through multiple channel
(Internet-toll free telephone-card statement messaging) access to
the Lottery Cardholder, and (3) by delivering state-of-art
transactional security and transactional privacy. Not only will the
Lottery Cardholder (potential user) realize tangible benefits,
state lotteries will benefit with increased ticket sales from card
issuers as card issuers fulfill their fiduciary responsibility
based on individual Lottery Cardholder purchasing. This will drive
new revenues to the state, supplementing as examples, educational,
senior citizen and healthcare funding, increasing thirty-eight
state's revenue streams.
[0012] It is a further object that when a cardholder member makes
purchases, the cardholders can earn credits toward lottery tickets
from the state lottery games of their choice. The option is
designed to facilitate a turnkey solution between the card issuer
and the state lottery and the third party management processor.
State lotteries thereby gain a new income stream in a time of
budgetary constraints.
[0013] The invention's system includes two interactive databases
managed by members of a strategic alliance between multiple credit
card issuers and one or more lottery database contractors. One
database resides at the card issuer for the purpose of tracking
card transactions, payments, revolving account balances and
statement generation; and one at the lottery processor for accrual
of earned credits derived from Lottery Card purchases by type of
Lottery game to be played, by pot dollar amount, by pooling with
like brand Lottery Cardholders, by pre-selected timing including
generation of ticket purchases (in accordance with Lottery
Cardholder's written, submitted direction) for remittance to the
card issuer; and maintenance and periodic audit of the cardholder's
earned lottery ticket account on an ongoing basis.
[0014] It is an object of the present invention to provide a credit
card and debit card awards program in which a customer can
accumulate dollar credits cash rewards to be applied to the
purchase of lottery tickets is a timely, customer-friendly basis
without unreasonable lead times as a result of open architecture
which permits the lottery cardholder to utilize the multiple
channel access available only to lottery cardholders, e.g.
Internet, dedicated toll free numbers and statement messaging.
[0015] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
credit cards and/or debit cards award program and system whereby
customers can designate the types of lottery games they wish to
play, according to state and configuration.
[0016] It is yet a further object of the present invention to
provide a system whereby lottery players can pool their purchases
with other players and can use a variety of number generation
systems.
[0017] It is still a further object of the present invention to
provide a system whereby lottery players can purchase tickets at a
time when the lottery reaches a certain high level.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] A method of issuing lottery tickets to an authorized user of
a credit card or debit card who purchases makes everyday purchases
of every type of commodity from over 28 million merchants globally
on the card comprising the following steps: storing in a database
an amount of each of one or more purchases on the credit card by an
authorized lottery cardholder of the card; defining and storing in
the data processing device a number representing a monetary amount
for which the lottery cardholder can receive a lottery ticket;
numbers can be printed online; calculating in the data processing
device a quantity of the lottery tickets earned by the lottery
cardholder based on the quantity of purchases by the lottery
cardholder; and crediting the lottery cardholder with the lottery
tickets.
[0019] In a further novel customer loyalty game is played according
to the following steps: registering a customer for a lottery
loyalty promotion associated with a credit card; and providing at
least one lottery ticket to the customer, based upon the monetary
amount a customer purchases;
[0020] A system for operating a customer loyalty game played
according to the following steps: input means for inputting
customer information and registering the customer to participate in
the lottery credit card based customer loyalty game; means under
the control of a program for determining the award of lottery
tickets based upon pre-selected purchasing parameters; means for
assigning the lottery tickets and distributing them to a Lottery
Cardholder based upon the spending level of the customer with
respect to the purchasing parameters; and means for providing the
end user with the ability to access the numbers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0021] FIG. 1 is block diagram of the major operational features of
the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 1a illustrates the relationship between the card issuer
and the Lottery Cardholder.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the operation of the present
invention.
[0024] FIG. 3 illustrates a customer intake form in accordance with
the invention.
[0025] FIGS. 4a -4b illustrate online user screens in accordance
with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0026] The present invention is described with reference to the
enclosed Figures where the same numbers are utilized where
applicable. Referring to FIG. 1, an over all description of the
major components of the present invention is shown. The invention
comprises a number of basic components which comprise the key
elements of the system.
[0027] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1a, the basic elements initially
comprise a card issuer 10. Until this time and during a period of
credit card industry rewards program growth, no one entity or
individual has developed a consumer-friendly, multiple access
system for linking lottery ticket awards to everyday credit and
debit card purchases such as is delineated herein, including
imbedded transactional security and privacy. In a preferred
embodiment, the card issuer 10 is typically a bank or financial
(e.g. MBNA, BANK ONE, Citibank, etc.) working within an
organization such as Discover and/or American Express which
processes and approves the application and then issues the credit
card with a state lottery component. The term credit and/or debit
card are used interchangeably herein for the purposes of the
invention. Visa/Mastercard also provides marketing support. The
second element, a credit card processor 12 is a third party
clearing house entity which manages and authorizes credit card
transactions and which handles the clearance and payment of
approved transactions to a merchant 14 who processes credit card
purchases made by the end user consumer 11. The operations of the
card processor are seamless from the standpoint of the end user
customer The merchant 14 is one of the millions of merchants who
accept the credit cards and/or debit cards which the issuer 10 has
issued. The issuer 10 sends out monthly statements and provides a
statement of the accumulated lottery ticket dollar credits.
[0028] The present invention further utilizes the existing lottery
infrastructure. The infrastructure includes the state or
governmental lottery authority 16 and a lottery processor 18. The
lottery authority is typically a governmental or quasi-governmental
agency legally charged with running the state lottery. The
processor is typically a large processing organization which
manages one or more state lotteries under contract with the lottery
authority . One of the largest such organizations is GTech
Corporation of West Greenwich, R.I. Additional organizations
include Automated Wagering, Inc. and Scientific Games, Inc. The
processor typically, under contract with the state lottery
authority manages the lottery sales terminals which are situated at
authorized lottery retailer in the participating state. The
processor tracks the sales and the ticket purchases for the state
lottery from each of the terminals.
[0029] The Lottery Cardholder makes purchases at over 28 million
merchant establishments 14. The card processor 12 posts
transactions and transfers data to the card issuer. As noted, the
card processor 12 may be in house or a third party.
[0030] The issuer, with the state lottery's prior approval, then
posts transactions to its database and runs an automated algorithm
for the award of lottery ticket credit based upon preset criteria
which relates the quantity of purchases to the number of lottery
ticket credits to be awarded. For example, the algorithm may be set
to award lottery tickets up to 1 percent (1%) except where seasonal
promotions of greater earnings may be offered by the card issuer to
the lottery cardholder (end user) of a customer's paid purchases.
Hence, if a customer purchases and pays for $100.00 of merchandise
using the card, he may receive a reward of one, two or three
lottery tickets. The percentage may be based upon the customer's
credit rating, annual interest rate or type of card held (e.g.
Regular, Gold, Platinum),
[0031] The rewards will appear on the Lottery Cardholder's
statement as a premium. The invention contemplates three channels
of access and communication between the customer and the card
issuer. As shown in FIG. 5, the communication can take place online
51, via a toll free phone line 53 or via mail 55. The online
channel will typically be a section of the card issuer's website
where the customer can access his or her bank of lottery ticket
credits and make purchases of tickets.
[0032] Based upon the customer's level of net card charges or card
purchases, the card issuer awards a pre-set number of lottery cards
or plays. The lottery Cardholder (end user) can then access his or
her personal information base of lottery ticket credits and
additionally request new tickets deductible from the available
balance. The end user can then go on a website and have lottery
tickets sent to him or her via email or courier or he can play
online.
[0033] When ordered, the lottery processor then transfers the
lottery numbers to the player through the card issuer by secure
upload of the salient data adhering at all times to privacy
provisions and security protocols. The present invention provides
for a number of optional features. For example, merchants who
accept the card may be able to pay bonus rewards for the purchase
of specially promoted goods or store brands.
[0034] As shown in FIG. 2, the operation system of the present
invention works as follows. The end user initially applies for the
card 50. When approved, the user then selects, either at the time
of the card application or later the games he wishes to play. The
player then selects the state that he wishes to play in. The system
will determine whether the player can legally play a chosen game in
that state. Many states have statutes which govern the terms and
conditions under which non-resident players may play lottery
games.
[0035] After the receipt of the card, the Lottery Cardholder (end
user) can then make purchases at one of over 28 million merchants
which accept the Lottery Card for payment. Each month as the
Lottery Cardholder (end user) gets his or her statement from the
issuer 10, he or she will receive credits for lottery tickets based
upon the level of paid purchases.
[0036] The lottery processor purchases the tickets for the
customers and transfers the lottery tickets either electronically
or manually, in accordance with applicable regulation and/or
Lottery Cardholder request, to the Lottery Cardholder. The ticket
data is uploaded to the issuer who posts ticket numbers on the
statement. This information may also be accessed via the internet
or by toll free number. The tickets can be mailed to the player or
be stored virtually in a website. The player can then choose the
types of numbers he or she wishes to play via an online interface,
via mail or a telephone interface.
[0037] FIG. 3 illustrates a customer registration intake form for
the present invention. The form includes critical information such
as the user's name 59, address 60, state 61, lotteries played 62,
phone 64 and email 66. This information may be provided by paper
form, via telephone intake or online interface.
[0038] FIGS. 4a-4d illustrates a series of user screens which can
be used with an online interface. Initially as shown in FIG. 4a,
the end user will receive a password protected interface 70. The
user can then go to a screen (FIG. 4b) which shows his/her
accumulated plays (credits) 72 and which includes a feature to play
a certain number of tickets with a frequency 74. The customer can
sign up for an email alert when jackpot interest is high 76. The
customer can also join a group with other players 75. As shown in
FIG. 4c, the online interface provides the player with ticket
generation options, including random generation 78, numerology 80,
wheeling 79 or astrology 82. A final screen allows the player to
pick specific numbers 84 shown in FIG. 4d.
[0039] As noted, among the most popular games are the multistate
games such as MegaMillions and Powerball which permit players to
play games with a pool of players from multiple states who have the
same Card Issuer's Lottery Card. These players can then choose if
they are interested in multiple tickets, using numbers they select
themselves. One of the other features of the invention is that
customers can designate when they want to buy tickets. For example,
as shown in FIG. 4b, the system can be set up so that lottery
tickets can be purchased only when the lottery reaches a certain
jackpot value 81. For example, when the Powerball, Florida or
MegaMillions lottery reaches One Hundred Million (100,000,000), the
system can be set to make a call to the customer or send an email
reminder. In all cases within the context of the invention, tickets
are generated to a cardholder based on paid card charges net of
revolving balance.
[0040] The present invention has been described with reference to
the above discussed preferred embodiment. These and other objects
of the present invention will become apparent from the claims which
follow.
* * * * *